| Teddy Bear | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Other Names |
Teddy |
|
First Appearance |
Teddy Bear Plush Toy (1902) |
|
Original Publisher |
Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. (US)/ Steiff Firm (Germany) |
|
Created by |
Richard Steiff (Germany) and Morris Michtom (US) |
Origin[]
A 1902 political cartoon in The Washington Post spawned the teddy bear name.
A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. It was developed apparently simultaneously by the toymakers Richard Steiff in Germany and Morris Michtom in the United States in the first decade of the 20th century. The teddy bear, named after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, became a popular children's toy, and it has been celebrated in story, song, and film.
Since the creation of the first teddy bears (which sought to imitate the form of real bear cubs), "teddies" have greatly varied in form, style, color, and material. They have become collectors' items, with older and rarer teddies appearing at public auctions. Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children, and they are often given to adults to signify affection, congratulations, or sympathy.
The name teddy bear comes from Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, who was often referred to as "Teddy" (a nickname he loathed). The name originated from an incident on a bear-hunting trip in the U.S. state of Mississippi in November 1902, to which Roosevelt was invited by Andrew H. Longino, the 35th governor of Mississippi. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already killed an animal. A party of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier, cornered, clubbed, and tied an American black bear to a willow tree after a long and exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that he should shoot the bear dead, although Collier told Roosevelt not to shoot the bear while it was tied. Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter.
Morris Michtom saw the Berryman drawing of Roosevelt and was inspired to create a teddy bear. He created a small soft bear cub and put it in his candy-shop window at 404 Tompkins Avenue in New York City with a sign reading "Teddy's bear." The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.
A little earlier in 1902 in Germany, the Steiff firm produced a stuffed bear from Richard Steiff's designs. Steiff exhibited the toy at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903, where it was seen by Hermann Berg, a buyer for George Borgfeldt & Company in New York (and the brother of the composer Alban Berg). He ordered 3,000 to be sent to the United States. Although Steiff's records show that the bears were produced, they are not recorded as arriving in the U.S., and no example of the type, "55 PB", has ever been seen, leading to the story that the bears were shipwrecked. However, the shipwreck story is disputed – the author Günther Pfeiffer notes that it was only recorded in 1953 and says it is more likely that the 55 PB was not sufficiently durable to survive until the present day. Although Steiff and Michtom were both making teddy bears at around the same time, neither would have known of the other's creation due to poor transatlantic communication.
The American writer Seymour Eaton wrote the children's book series The Roosevelt Bears, while the American composer John W. Bratton wrote an instrumental "The Teddy Bears' Picnic", a "characteristic two-step", in 1907, which later had words written to it by the Irish lyricist Jimmy Kennedy in 1932.
Early teddy bears were made to look like real bears, with extended snouts and beady eyes. Modern teddy bears tend to have larger eyes and foreheads and smaller noses, which are babylike features intended to enhance the toy's "cuteness". Some teddy bears are also designed to represent different species, such as polar bears and brown bears, as well as pandas and koalas. While early teddy bears were covered in tawny mohair fur, modern teddy bears are manufactured in a wide variety of commercially available fabrics, most commonly synthetic fur, but also velour, denim, cotton, satin, and canvas.
A worker stuffing a teddy bear in a toy factory, 1917
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of the Teddy Bear from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Cartoon Appearances[]
- Washington Post Political Cartoon by Clifford Berryman (November 16, 1902)
- Judge #1319 - 1321, 1324, 1357, 1364, 1374, 1375, 2139
- The Newlyweds and Their Baby (August 5, 1907)
- The Bear Santa in Teddy-Bear Land (1911)
Public Domain Music Appearances[]
- The Teddy Bears' Picnic (1907)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Four Color #302, 780
- In issue 302, Teddy Bear wants to be chosen as one of Santa's gifts to children, but isn't. Tiger Cat is chosen, but he doesn't want to go with Santa and plots with others to hijack the train and escape from Toyland.
- In issue 780, At midnight each night, when all the toys come to life, the bear tries to be something different--a fireman, soldier, and Indian Chief. He fails at all these and decides to be content with just being a teddy bear.
- Boy Comics #59: Features a text article that highlights information on the Teddy Bear stamp.
- Daredevil #68: Reprints text article from Boy Comics #59
- Boy Meets Girl #6: Reprints text article from Boy Comics #59
- Animal Comics #13: Rollerskating, L.B. (a talking stuffed teddy-bear) exhorts Eddie Elephant (a talking stuffed toy elephant) to speed, who demurs, comments he isn't built for it, sits on a log, removes the skates, tosses them, hitting Quacky (a talking wooden toy duck) who sits on her eggs. She leaves Eddie in charge, going for groceries. The ducklings hatch, see L.B.'s skates, return to their shells, regrow their legs and feet as wheels, lead the boys a merry chase on the water. Catching 'em in the overturned canoe, the boys see Quacky returning, angry. Ducklings skate off, Quacky weeps she can't catch 'em. Eddie gives her his skates, solving her problem, and his!
- Dell Junior Treasury #9: Adaptation of the Clementina the Flying Pig (1939) by Oskar Lebeck which featured the character Teddy B.B. While this comic is public domain, the original story may be copyrighted.
- Hot Rods and Racing Cars #18: Featured a text story about the Teddy Bear Car.
Appearances of Rupert Bear[]
- Ruper Bear Comic Strip (1920-1929)
Appearances of Huggy[]
- Jon 1977-1978
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Teddy Bears at the Circus (1907)
- The Teddy Bear ABC (1907)
Appearances of Winnie the Pooh[]
- When We Were Very Young (1924)
- Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)
- Now We Are Six (1927)
- The House at Pooh Corner (1928)
Appearances of Rupert Bear[]
- Rupert and the Enchanted Princess (1928)
- Rupert and the Black Dwarf (1928)
- Rupert and his Pet Monkey (1928)
- Rupert and his Friend Margot (and Rupert, Margot and the Fairies) (1928)
- Rupert in the Mystery of Woody (1929)
- Further Adventures of Rupert and his Friend Margot (and Rupert and the Stolen Apples) (1929)
- Rupert and the Three Roberts (1929)
- Rupert, the Knight and the Lady (and Rupert and the Wise Goat's Birthday Cake) (1929)
- Rupert and the Circus Clown (1929)
- Rupert and the Magic Hat (1929)
Public Domain Televsion Appearances[]
Appearances of Teddy from Andy Pandy[]
- Introducing Andy Pandy (April 29th 1952)
- Easter Egg (May 27th 1952)
- Looby Loo In Bed (June 3rd 1952)
- Dusting The House (June 17th 1952)
- Playing On The Wall (June 24th 1952)
- Bird and Butterfly (July 1st 1952)
- Playing with Ducks (July 8th 1952)
- Rabbits (July 15th 1952)
- Paddling Pool (July 22nd 1952)
- Playing with the Kittens (July 29th 1952)
- Hobby Horse and Bells (August 5th 1952)
- Boats on the Water (September 9th 1952)
- Looby Loo's Prom (September 16th 1952)
Notes[]
- Winnie-the-Pooh is based on a teddy bear owned by Christopher Robin Milne, the son of the author A. A. Milne; the character first appeared in a 1926 children's book.
- Rupert Bear comic has appeared in Daily Express since November 1920.
- In the Jon comic strip, Huggy is Garfield's beloved teddy bear and best friend. He debuted on June 16, 1977, when Garfield discovered him in a drawer.
- Billy Possum is a short-lived, plush stuffed toy character modeled after resident William Howard Taft. Created in 1909 as a tongue-in-cheek replacement for the popular Teddy bear, it was born out of a political and cultural moment following President Theodore Roosevelt’s departure from office. Despite a clever marketing slogan and a range of merchandise featuring the character, the novelty failed to capture the public’s long-term interest, and the fad had dissipated by Christmas of 1909.